Book Jacket Designs by Julianna Lee
Love a Book By Its Cover - Book Jacket Designs by Julianna Lee:
I am an Art Director at Little, Brown and Company where I have worked for the past 17 years. I've designed and art directed covers for a wide range of books including commercial and literary fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, and poetry. I graduated from Barnard College with a B.A. degree in Sociology and an AAS Degree at Parsons School of Design. I currently live in the most diverse neighborhood on earth -- Jackson Heights, Queens, with my two kids and husband.
Love a Book By Its Cover - Book Jacket Designs by Julianna Lee
Inspiration for Because Our Fathers Lied by Craig McNamara:
I don't know if I can say I have a favorite book jacket that I have designed. I do know that I am most proud when I can find a visual solution for a particularly difficult problem. That was the case for the memoir, "Because Our Fathers Lied," by Craig McNamara. In case you don't know, Craig McNamara is the son of Robert McNamara, the US secretary of defense during the Vietnam War and often criticized for escalating the war. My initial comps followed the familiar look of these kinds of nonfiction books -- classic and conservative for male-based readers who like to read about history and war. However, the editor wanted to push the design to something less obvious. I needed to find a way to represent Robert McNamara as a recognizable figure, show the complicated relationship between father and son, and also say 'Vietnam War.' I had some of the author's family photos and memorabilia, but nothing clicked with such a tricky, loaded title. I also did not want the cover to portray Robert McNamara as evil or hated by the author because there is a lot of love there. I looked through Vietnam War posters and went with the war/peace dichotomy which also fit in with the contrasting ideologies of father and son. So while this cover looks deceptively simple, there was a lot of thought that went into it.
Love a Book By Its Cover - Book Jacket Designs by Julianna Lee
Other book jackets by Julianna Lee:
Love a Book By Its Cover - Book Jacket Designs by Julianna Lee
Love a Book By Its Cover - Book Jacket Designs by Julianna Lee
Love a Book By Its Cover - Book Jacket Designs by Julianna Lee
Find more from Julianna Lee, here:
@julianna_lee_design on instagram
